"A necessary evil with a view"

New York State Route 9A is a state highway and runs down the westernmost edge of Manhattan, along the West Side Highway and the Henry Hudson Parkway, and terminates at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Along this route, it either runs concurrent to, or joins the following city streets: Riverside Drive, 12th Avenue, 11th Avenue, 10th Avenue, and West Street. It makes for far quicker movement up and down Manhattan by car than is possible on Manhattan's main streets, which are famously, perpetually congested. In my humble opinion, however, it mars the beauty of the river views and the serenity that might have been had from easy foot access to the water. You certainly can cross the highway on foot at any point, but it is frankly dangerous, and I'd be holding small children tightly by the hand. There's a jogging path that also runs parallel to the water front, a wonderful thing that enhances the quality of life for everyone; but there's always that highway running between you and any real contemplative experience. Too bad, really. There's no easy answer to how to manage congestion in a city as densely packed as New York, and I suppose I'd rather go radical on this point and abolish cars on the island of Manhattan altogether. It would be easy and not very expensive to bump up public transport, like the bus system, to a point of high efficiency and speed, if there were no longer any honking, carbon-spewing cars clogging up the streets. I'm dreaming, of course, because New Yorkers would never give up their right to drive in the city, nor their right to ruin their health accordingly from the concomitant stress.